Cameroon win first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title after Ngah double

Cameroon secured their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title with a convincing 3-0 victory over surprise finalists Malawi on Sunday night, as Marie Ngah scored twice in the first half.

The Indomitable Lionesses had previously lost three finals, but finally claimed the trophy at the fourth attempt with a dominant performance against a Malawi side appearing in the continental championship for the first time.

Cameroon controlled the opening period at Stade Prince Moulay Hassan in Rabat, Morocco, and established a three-goal advantage before the interval.

Ngah opened the scoring after 20 minutes when she reacted fastest to a loose ball inside the penalty area and finished from close range. Cameroon extended their lead 10 minutes later, with Naomi Eto adding the second goal.

Malawi were under sustained pressure and appeared to be hoping to reach half-time without conceding again. However, Ngah struck for a second time in the third minute of added time, converting from Eto’s pass to complete a commanding first-half display.

The result made Cameroon the fourth different winners of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations since the competition was first staged in 1998.

Nigeria remain the tournament’s most successful nation with 10 titles. Equatorial Guinea have won the competition twice, while South Africa have lifted the trophy once.

Both finalists had already secured qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil, alongside the two losing semi-finalists, Morocco and Algeria. Algeria finished third after beating Morocco on penalties in the bronze-medal fixture on Saturday.

Malawi’s unexpected run to the final had been one of the tournament’s major stories. They entered the competition ranked 153rd in the world and 32nd in Africa, yet progressed all the way to the decisive match before coming up against a Cameroon team with greater experience of the latter stages.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino joined Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe at the medal ceremony, where he presented the champions with their medals. Several Cameroon players also asked to have photographs taken with the Swiss official.

Infantino has received longstanding support from many people across the African continent as he seeks re-election next March. That campaign has continued despite revelations about his now-abandoned proposal to sell a stake in future World Cups, a plan that attracted condemnation around the world.

For Cameroon, however, the focus was on ending their wait for a first continental title. After three previous final defeats, their emphatic win over Malawi delivered a landmark success and placed them among the four nations to have won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.